Custom KZ1000 - Work in Progress (2003)
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Eric writes:This is what it looks like now. I have added the mags and dual disks up front. So far I have rebuilt and synced carbs, sealed gas tank, tuned it and added colder plugs. This is a 1977 1000 A1. I hate to take it too far from stock and I am keeping all stock parts. You may notice a small amount of fuel under the bike, # 4 float is not quit there yet. |
The rest of the story:I was at work when a friend of mine, Terry, told me he knew of an old bike in a barn that had been for sale for several years. My friend Terry knew I liked to scrounge bikes and parts. He said the bike was a Kawasaki and was originally traded for a bass boat from a previous owner who had traded some work, accepting the bike in lieu of payment. This leads to the original owner. The original owner bought it new and did not ride it much. He kept it in his garage and was tired of it taking up space. He sold the bike. The bike was always in a garage or barn. Most owners did not want a powerful bike they wanted a Sunday driver.When I found out the bike was a 1970-something Kawi thousand or so and the owner was asking $300, I wrote the check on the spot, sight un-seen. After work that day around 9:30 PM I drooled as I loaded the 1977 KZ 1000 A1 with only 18,000 miles onto my trailer. The owner was happy to have sold the old junk bike. I told the owner he was a little cheap on the price when he assured me he was asking all it was worth and he was happy the bike was going to someone who may get it to run. The first stop was the car wash I blasted gunk off and found there was a motorcycle there. The bike sat covered with a tarp for 6 months due to cold weather. I looked the bike over in the spring to find one carb slide was stuck and the throttle on the carb was broken. Off came the carbs and over to Phil's Pro Shop for $30 owrth of used parts. Next, a compression test showed 150 across the four. I bought a new battery, carb kits, tank seal, colder set of plugs and most importantly, tune and sync the carbs. We rode for a while on dry rot tires and decided new tires were warranted along with the ability to stop quickly. A trip over to a friend's house and I bought a Kawi front mag, dual disks, calipers, splitter etc. all for $50.00. Man what a deal. I searched for an 18 inch rear mag for three weeks and found one with a new tire for $129.00. These are the identical mag wheels the Z1 came with. Two days of labor, a chain, sprockets and skinned knuckles and we were off. I have been looking for a KZ1000 worth having since I was sixteen. That was 19 years ago. I finally found one and do not plan to part with it. The tank is in primer and I will be painting it with the original red color for that year as factory on this bike. |
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